Effect of occlusal plane on smile attractiveness

Abstract

Objective: To determine the influence of the occlusal plane angle on smile attractiveness as perceived by a group of adult orthodontic patients and dentists. Materials and Methods: The first stage utilized a laboratory approach to record changes in vertical tooth position at different occlusal plane angles using a maxillary model mounted on an articulator. In the second stage, photographic manipulation was undertaken, using data from stage 1, to produce a computerized prediction of the appearance of the smile at differing occlusal plane angles (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 degrees). Finally, the five developed photographs were assessed by participants. Results: Alterations in the occlusal plane angle did affect relative smile attractiveness for both patients (n 5 66) and dentists (n 5 66). For patients, the 10 degree smile was rated better than the 0 and 20 degree smiles (P , .01); for dentists, the 15 degree smile was rated better than the 0 and 20 degree smiles (P , .01). The 5, 10, and 15 degree smiles were indistinguishable for patients, and the 10 and 15 degree smiles were indistinguishable for dentists. Conclusion: Changing the occlusal plane angle does affect relative smile attractiveness. However, patients were more tolerant of these changes than dentists. This suggests that large changes in the occlusal plane angle would affect relative smile attractiveness, and small changes are unlikely to affect smile attractiveness. (Angle Orthod. 2012;82:218-223.)

An Evaluation of Benchmarks for Esthetic Orientation of the Occlusal Plane

“…OPAs observed in this predominantly Caucasian population, measured from both the horizontal and Camper's planes, were similar to those reported by most authors, but few patients were clustered around the mean, and the range was greater than other examinations, likely due to the larger sample population of 100 patients used in this study. The range of OPAs observed here in relation to the horizontal plane in natural dentitions is in close accordance with the range found to be esthetically acceptable by Batwa et al; 75 of 100 (75%) were within 0 to 15°, only one positive outlier at 18.3° and negative OPAs found in 24% of the patients in this study. As with Batwa et al, Parekh et al also found flat smile arcs to be extremely objectionable by orthodontists and laypersons, and Ker et al concluded that adult participants preferred a consonant smile but accepted a smile with minimal curvature as well.…”

“…OPAs observed in this predominantly Caucasian population, measured from both the horizontal and Camper's planes, were similar to those reported by most authors, but few patients were clustered around the mean, and the range was greater than other examinations, likely due to the larger sample population of 100 patients used in this study. The range of OPAs observed here in relation to the horizontal plane in natural dentitions is in close accordance with the range found to be esthetically acceptable by Batwa et al; 26 universally been found to be esthetically objectionable, negative angles should be avoided in oral rehabilitation.…”

In vitro comparison of the maxillary occlusal plane orientation obtained with five facebow systems

“…The accurate transfer of the orientation of the OP can significantly affect function 15,16 and esthetics [17][18][19][20] has implications in the field of orthognathic surgery. 11 The effect of the OP on esthetics was discussed by Pitchford, 17 who stated that failure to transfer the OP accurately can result in complete dentures with an OP in which the maxillary posterior teeth seem to hang below the anterior teeth.…”

“…Batwa et al 18 determined the influence of the OP angle on smile attractiveness as perceived by a group of adult orthodontic patients and dentists. The present study is a follow-up to an earlier study by Kattadiyil et al,20 who reported that perceived changes in OP orientation affected smile esthetics.…”

Incisors′ proportions in smile esthetics

“…This further highlights the fact that both dentists and orthodontists are known to be more critical than laypeople. [15] Moreover, the lateral incisor tooth proportion proved to be an important factor influencing smile esthetics, where smiles falling away from the suggested range (54-61%) were rated less esthetic.…”